Meiji Waterway

This is an agricultural waterway that irrigates eight cities in the Nishimikawa region, with Anjo City in Aichi Prefecture at its center. The area it benefits is approximately 6,000 hectares (2005). Its source is the Yahagi River, and the total length of the main waterway, including the East, Middle, West, and Kanorii wells, is approximately 60 kilometers. Plans were first drawn up in 1827 (Bunsei 10) under the feudal domain system, but after some setbacks it was not completed until 1880 (Meiji 13). It is currently managed by the Meiji Waterworks Land Improvement District (Anjo City).

The excavation of the canal was planned by Tsuzuki Yako (a magistrate and sake brewer), but was thwarted by opposition from the feudal lord and farmers. After the establishment of the Meiji government, separate applications by local residents Iyoda Yohachiro and Okamoto Hyomatsu were consolidated by the Aichi Prefectural Government, which approved and realised the project. It was a privately-led irrigation project in both planning and capital, in stark contrast to the government-run Asaka Canal, which was built around the same time. The Hekikai Plateau, which was a water-scarce wilderness, was turned into a magnificent grain-producing region through which water was passed. From the end of the Taisho period to the early Showa period, it was also called "Japan's Denmark," largely due to the influence of its leader, Yamazaki Nobuyoshi.

[Gohei Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

愛知県安城市(あんじょうし)を中心に、西三河(にしみかわ)地方八市を潤す農業用水。受益面積約6000ヘクタール（2005年）。矢作(やはぎ)川を水源とし東・中・西・鹿乗(かのり)井筋を含む幹線水路の総延長は約60キロメートル。当初計画は幕藩体制下の1827年（文政10）に立てられたが、一度挫折(ざせつ)し完成したのが1880年（明治13）である。現在、明治用水土地改良区（安城市）によって管理されている。

　開削は、都築弥厚(つづきやこう)（代官・酒造業）によって計画されたが、藩主、農民の反対にあって挫折した。明治政府の成立後、地元の伊予田(いよだ)与八郎、岡本兵松(ひょうまつ)の別々の出願が愛知県庁によって一本化され、許可・実現をみた。計画、資本ともに民間主導型で行われた用水で同時期にできた官営の安積(あさか)疎水とは対照的である。通水された碧海(へきかい)台地は乏水性の原野であったが、みごとな穀倉地帯に変わった。大正末から昭和初期には「日本のデンマーク」ともいわれたが、指導者山崎延吉(のぶよし)の力が大きい。

［伊藤郷平］

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